LAGOS CONDEMNS OPEN URINATION AND DEFECATION Lagos State Government has condemned the habit of open urination and defecation by members of the public as one of the unwholesome act that would jeopardise the governments vision in transforming the State into a tourist haven. The State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, who disclosed this in an address at a One Day Advocacy and Sensitisation Campaign/Stakeholders meeting held recently at LCCI, Alausa, Ikeja with the theme: “Eradication of open defecation and urination in the State: Public Toilets in focus”, said It is so sad to see our men and women folk urinate and defecate in the open, a habit that should be discouraged. Tunji Bello explained that recently, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that out of the 2.5 billion who live without adequate sanitation around the world, 33 Million Nigerians have no access to decent toilets as a result of this inadequacy, citizens of Africa’s most populous nation answer the call of nature in the open. Bello further described the cost of open defecation and urination on health as too grave and monumental, stressing that it is too much to be ignored because it does not only pollute underground waters, but also contaminate agricultural produce and aid the spread of diseases such as diarrhea, ascaris, tapeworms, intestinal parasites, hookworm, hepatitis’ among others. According to him,As a result of these, infant and child under-nutrition and stunted growth are also aggravated. Most striking are the 2,000 children who die every day across the world from diarrhea and other preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation. He noted that Lagos State with over 20 million people contends with the challenges of inadequacy of water and sanitation, due to neglect of several years and migration of people from other parts of the country, who take advantage of good governance and abundant economic opportunities in the State. In his words,In an effort to keep a healthy and sustainable environment in the state, the present administration of Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) has been in the vanguard for the provision of public toilets to ease the sanitation challenge across the state. In pursuit of this desire, a total of over 570 public toilets currently exist in the State, which without any doubt is grossly inadequate. The daily influx of people into the state and the massive stretch on existing infrastructure has shown that Government cannot do it alone, Bello added. He called on individuals, groups, corporate organizations to collaborate with the State Government as well as engage in private investment to complement government effort. Bello stated that while the public sector invests in sanitation and regulate against pollution, the private sector is advised to invest massively so as to provide more of these facilities to the people of the state. He noted that open urination and defecation are crucial issue not often talked about, adding that the forum would afford the opportunity to discuss it, the resolution of which would help in reaching milestone in the sanitation of the state as well as position it for the desired model megacity. We need to dialogue on how best these facilities (public toilet) can be increased and well utilized to meet best practice in the world, that is one of the reason for our gathering here today, Bello added. He also urged market men and women and others in the informal sector to key-in to the aspiration of the State Government for zero tolerance on Open defecation and urination as well as other environmental abuses.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:52:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015